The Buffalo AKG is dividing its top leadership responsibilities between two longtime staff members.
Cathleen Chaffee, who currently serves as the Charles Balbach Chief Curator, is the museum’s incoming artistic director, while Jillian Jones, AKG’s deputy director, will become the executive director. Under a new co-leadership structure, Chaffee will oversee the museum’s exhibitions and public-facing programs. Jones will guide overall strategy, operations and finances.
“For a shared leadership structure to make sense," Chaffee said, "the part where we collaborate on a lot of things is, I think, where the true strength is going to come out.”
The appointments mark the first dual leadership structure in the museum’s 164-year history, and the first time two women will lead it together. The last time a woman held the highest leadership position at the AKG was in 1910, when Cornelia Bentley Sage Quinton became the first woman director of a museum in North America.
"We're the second women directors; it's been 115 years," Jones said. “Our leadership is about stability and building on the momentum that has been established over the past few years.”
Both Chaffee and Jones helped guide the AKG through its major campus expansion. Now, they say the next chapter will focus less on the building and more on people.
“We see the next chapter being more of a moment focused on people and the relationships that this institution brings forth," Jones said.
Their first priorities include a community listening tour, launching a new strategic plan and strengthening the museum’s finances.
Chaffee said they also want the AKG to remain ambitious but welcoming.
“I think the thing people can look forward to is an institution that's infused with both excellence and a sense of fun," she said.
Jones and Chaffee step into their new roles Nov. 1. Current director Janne Sirén’s tenure ends the day before.
